


Zoldyck Blue

by gingerwrites



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: 5+1 Things, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 19:58:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5838982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingerwrites/pseuds/gingerwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Hisoka sees it, he thinks it's a trick of the light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zoldyck Blue

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 한국어 available: [조르딕 블루](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12923535) by [MoltenLava](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoltenLava/pseuds/MoltenLava)



* * *

The first time Hisoka sees it, he thinks it's a trick of the light. 

The sun is shining in from the large window in his bedroom, a sunbeam enveloping Illumi's body and making his pale skin glow. Hisoka has already been up for a while and is enjoying watching the steady rise and fall of Illumi's back as he breathes. It's still something of interest to him that the assassin will willingly sleep when he knows Hisoka is near, even though Illumi has been doing so for years. The level of trust involved is something that Hisoka knows has never been extended to anyone outside the Zoldyck family. 

There's a shift in Illumi's breathing and Hisoka zeros in on his face. The moment in which Illumi awakens is always one of his most unguarded after a good night's sleep, and Hisoka makes a point to see it happen whenever possible. Illumi takes a deep breath, letting it out in a long, sleepy sigh.

“Good morning,” Hisoka says fondly, resisting the urge to pull Illumi into his lap and cuddle him. Illumi has never yet responded favourably to that and Hisoka doesn't want to upset him this early in the morning. He can wait a few more minutes.

Illumi blearily opens his eyes and-- Startled, Hisoka sits up straight and waits for Illumi to open his eyes again, which he does only to give Hisoka an odd look. Just before Illumi shut his eyes against the light of the sun, there was a flash of blue. 

But his eyes are black. Black, deep, seemingly endless. Illumi's eyes are exactly as Hisoka has always known them to be. 

“What are you doing?” Illumi asks as Hisoka continues to stare at him.

Hisoka quickly swings a leg over Illumi's waist, straddling him. “Only figuring out how I want to ravish you this morning,” he says, leering as he leans in for a kiss.

Illumi accepts the kiss but then shoves Hisoka off of him. It's only because of long practice that Hisoka doesn't end up sprawled on the floor. “I have to leave for a job in a few hours,” Illumi says by way of explanation.

“That's never stopped us before,” Hisoka says enticingly. He had only meant it as a distraction, but now he is entirely ready for another round with Illumi. They don't often get the chance for morning sex. Usually one or the other of them has somewhere to be.

“It does when you're buying me breakfast,” Illumi says, climbing out of the bed. If he meant his leaving the bed to be a deterrent, he is quite mistaken. The long stretch of his back had been glorious to watch all morning, but now the rest of his naked body is on display, muscles moving with grace and elegance. Hisoka would pin him to the wall if he didn't know it would lead to a less than fully satisfying fight and fuck. Illumi is very serious about his breakfast and does not like to be distracted from it.

“Oh, is that what I'm doing this morning?” Hisoka says, stretching out on the bed. Illumi may be radiant to look at, but Hisoka knows he's not hard on the eyes either. 

“Yes,” says Illumi, favouring Hisoka with a backward glance. “I'm going to shower. I expect you to be presentable in an hour.”

Illumi disappears through the door and Hisoka pushes a hand through his wet hair, wishing that he hadn't taken a shower already this morning. It would have at least given him an excuse for some groping before Illumi locked him out of the bathroom.

~

The second time it happens, they're sitting together on the couch, watching a documentary on deep sea creatures. It is one of those documentaries that Beast Hunters like so much where it isn't entirely certain if the “scientific evidence” is made up or real. 

“That one would be fun to fight,” Hisoka says, pointing at some eel-like monstrosity that is easily one hundred times larger than he is. The power and flexibility in the coils of its body would make it both dangerous and unpredictable.

“All you would have to do is shine a light in its eyes and cut its neck,” Illumi disagrees.

“Well, if you want to be efficient about it,” says Hisoka, rolling his eyes. “What if you didn't have a light?”

“Even if its eyes don't work, they're still going to be sensitive. They're certainly large enough. Stab them and kill the creature while it's thrashing around.”

“You wouldn't paralyze it?” Hisoka asks, a little surprised. He had thought that Illumi would prefer to have the monster frozen to make the kill as clean and efficient as possible. 

“Too big,” Illumi says. “Only certain sections of the body would be paralyzed at a time. I also have not done extensive research into the knowledge of which deep sea creatures respond most favourably to each of my poisons.”

“ _That_ sounds like fun. What if we did that instead of killing it?”

Illumi glances up at Hisoka and there's that flash of blue before he blinks. Black eyes. 

“What is it?” Illumi asks Hisoka, who is staring, searching for that moment of blue again. To Hisoka's disappointment and chagrin, he realizes that Illumi has completely lost his indulgent and whimsical mood. It can take hours of effort to get Illumi to reach that state of comfortableness and Hisoka blew it by being stupidly distracted.

“I thought for a moment you were going to agree with me,” Hisoka lies. “I was surprised by it.”

Illumi studies him for a just a moment longer and that's all it takes for Hisoka to tell that while Illumi knows he's lying, he also won't press Hisoka for the real answer. “You would be correct in your surprise,” he says, turning back to the television. “That does not sound like fun.”

Hisoka uses the arm he has around Illumi's shoulder to pull him in closer, encouraging Illumi to rest his head on Hisoka's shoulder. “I always have fun fighting with you,” Hisoka whispers.

“Fights are too easy when we fight together.”

“True,” Hisoka says. “But watching you fight can be very distracting. I'm never really at my best when fighting with you.”

“That would certainly explain a lot,” Illumi says drolly and then hushes Hisoka before he can open his mouth to complain. “The giant eel is about to eat a woolly mammoth. I would like to watch it proceed without your distractions.”

Hisoka hums contentedly but keeps his mouth shut.

~

The third time is a little different.

“You--Hisoka-- _move_ \--” Illumi tries to growl through his panting. Hisoka pulls back even more, slowing his thrusts to a maddening pace.

“I am moving,” Hisoka teases, watching Illumi's face ripple through emotions as it never really does at any other time. 

“I hate you,” Illumi says, arching his back, trying to force Hisoka into a faster speed. They both know that Illumi could easily flip their positions and take over, but he doesn't. Hisoka suspects that knowledge gives them both a little thrill. Illumi is allowing Hisoka the dominate role, giving Hisoka an edge and knowingly putting himself in a more vulnerable position. It's a bit of a heady rush for Hisoka.

As much as Hisoka does enjoy the fast fucks with Illumi – biting, pulling hair, scratching, broken furniture – there's a different sort of contentment after those. When they fuck, which is the more common type of sex for them, there's usually some sort of catalyst. Typically, it's pent up aggression. They both fight, a _lot_ , and they happen to both be very skilled fighters. People who actually prove to be a challenge for them are few and far between. To Hisoka's annoyance, far too often they don't even want to fight, making them boring opponents. He gets testy when another potential fight is called off. As for Illumi, assassinating doesn't often call for obvious fighting. Most of the time he's in and out like a ghost. He doesn't get testy when he doesn't get to fight someone. On the contrary, he gets testy when he _does_ , because that means that something went wrong on his job.

Illumi is far too much of a perfectionist, Hisoka muses as he presses soft kisses down the side of Illumi's neck, before nuzzling his shoulder. His father doesn't get upset when Illumi has to take out a few guards to get the job done, Illumi has said so himself. Instead, all of the disappointment is entirely Illumi's toward himself. He takes killing guards or other witnesses as a sign of failure, which is when he needs to prove himself strong again. Stronger, faster, a real threat. Those nights where Illumi has “failed” result in the most property damage. Illumi would never forgive Hisoka if he didn't fight back with at least some effort and Hisoka would never dodge a chance to fight Illumi in a less controlled state. It works out for them both. Those nights typically end with them both breathing heavily but feeling much better as they fall asleep in each other's arms. Illumi never says it, but Hisoka knows he's grateful.

That type of sex is all well and good, Hisoka enjoys himself immensely, but this slow, methodical fucking... that's what Hisoka really likes with Illumi. They both push themselves to the limits of stamina, endurance, and sanity, delaying each other release for as long as possible with only the strength of their wills and desire to please the other. It's a competition, certainly, but there's also so much reliance on the other. Sex is always a fairly vulnerable act, especially for two fighters like themselves, people who trust so few in the world, but there's something right about the necessity of this challenge between the two of them. Hisoka would never call it _making love_ , certainly not to Illumi's face, but he doesn't think that's too far off the mark. 

It's nice.

“You fucking bastard, would you just--” Illumi cuts himself off with a gasp as Hisoka gives a sharp thrust before going back to his steady pace. Illumi throws his head back with a moan and Hisoka honestly can't tell if it's because of impatience or the maddening spiral that Hisoka is throwing them both into.

Maybe nice is the wrong word. 

“So impatient, darling,” Hisoka drawls, snapping his hips forward, just once more, and Illumi moans again. 

Illumi's hands clamp around Hisoka's neck as he drags him down for a bruising kiss. Hisoka momentarily loses pace, thrusting deeper and harder as their kiss gentles, softening so they're only mouthing at each other. Hisoka catches himself and pulls his head away sharply, wry grin on his face. Illumi's hands remain on Hisoka's cheeks and his look of dismayed surprise will be one that Hisoka will cherish for a long while. 

Hisoka leans down to whisper in Illumi's ear. “You almost got me. You are far too clever for your own good.”

“My good would be better if you would set a decent pace and fuck me properly,” Illumi says, winding his arms around Hisoka's shoulders, but he's smiling one of those rare genuine smiles that Hisoka doubts more than five people have ever seen. Hisoka ever so slowly drags himself out of Illumi, only to push back in at a pace that makes his muscles tremble at the control. It would be so easy to lose himself now, but then teasing Illumi isn't as much fun without the added challenge for himself. This time when Illumi moans, it's tight in his voice and Hisoka knows that it is entirely his doing.

Hisoka leans in to kiss him again, eyes darting up to Illumi's for just a flash to smirk, but then he stop abruptly to look at Illumi's eyes again.

“Hisoka?” Illumi asks, a note of something like concern in his voice.

Hisoka leans forward again to finish the motion to kiss Illumi, who responds pleasantly after a moment of hesitation. Apparently he's decided to put Hisoka's odd moment behind them, which is a course of action that Hisoka should certainly follow.

It's just... he could have sworn... blue.

Blue eyes.

Illumi has black eyes. He always has.

Illumi bites sharply down on Hisoka's bottom lip. Hisoka jerks his head back, blinking. Yep. Definitely black eyes. Black, glaring eyes that don't look particularly pleased with him. “I will move you off of me and finish by myself,” Illumi threatens.

“Will you?” Hisoka asks, back in the moment. It doesn't matter what colour eyes Illumi has. At this point in time, they are together and having Hisoka's preferred type of sex, which is already infrequent enough without being sidetracked. He can ponder all he wants about Illumi's eyes later. Right now he has other priorities. “But then I would be so cold and alone.”

“Then you should-- _ah_ \--should--”

“Should what, darling? I can't understand you if you don't speak in proper sentences.”

“Fuck—you--” Illumi gasps out and Hisoka chuckles.

“But I'm too busy doing that to you,” Hisoka says lowly in Illumi's ear. “It's only been a couple of hours. How much longer do you think you can hold out? A hour? Two?”

Illumi clenches down as Hisoka thrusts into him and they both gasp. “Longer than you can,” Illumi says a little smugly.

“And what do I get when I prove you wrong?” Hisoka asks, trying to remain stoic as Illumi's muscles prove to be very distracting.

“Nothing, because you won't,” Illumi says, a glint in his eyes.

“I love a good challenge,” Hisoka purrs, licking a stripe up Illumi's neck. “I accept.”

~

The fourth time is unexpected to say the least. 

Hisoka ducks a punch, just missing his jaw by a hair. Any closer and he knows that even just a skim of Illumi's knuckles could send him flying if he's not properly prepared against it. However, they have a long standing agreement of no _Nen_ during these fights. One too many trips to buy furniture – a seemingly endless event as they have to find furniture that appeals to both of them – caused them to instill this rule. Other than protecting themselves from too much damage, the use of _Nen_ is strictly forbidden.

Today is certainly one where that rule is a good one. Either that or Illumi and Hisoka would have to let loose in an empty field. They're both far too pent up for this fight to take place inside anything, much less their apartment, but neither of them really seems to care at this point. They are both going for the throat because they know the other can take it and probably not die.

Hisoka had been looking forward to today for months. Strategically random meetings, vague threats and hints, just enough animosity to get this girl's rage up, and then Hisoka had been sure to send her the right way for some good training. He had been checking in on her progress for several weeks now and she was doing quite nicely. The fight would be an interesting one. She came from a family that used fighting techniques with which Hisoka wasn't overly familiar, and he was sure that she had incorporated that into her _Nen_ abilities. She was doing so well! She had even challenged him, hunting him down to – well, she had managed to find one of his fake residences, but that's still impressive. Hisoka had gladly accepted and met her in an empty parking lot in an abandoned part of town. There, surrounded by ghostly and decrepit buildings, standing in the middle of a cracked and dried out parking lot, she had offered Hisoka a flower. 

It wasn't even a pretty flower. It was small and blue and slightly withered from being held in her hand too long.

And then, just to really take the wind out of Hisoka's sails, she had explained that she had taken a vow of pacifism. She wasn't going to fight him. 

Ever.

All those new techniques, all that training, all that waiting for a delicious fight... gone. In an instant.

Again.

Sometimes it seems like the world has it out for Hisoka when he's waiting and hoping for a particular fight.

So Hisoka had come home entirely too early, disappointed and upset with months and months worth of eager anticipation roiling in his bones, waiting to be released. He knew he was going to fight with Illumi. He just had to wait for Illumi to return from his mission, which hopefully would be sooner rather than later. 

Three hours after Hisoka came back – long enough for him to bake chocolate chip cookies for them to eat after they wore themselves out – he senses Illumi's aura approaching. 

It's been years since he last felt Illumi this upset. The bloodlust is dripping off of him and Hisoka knows that he's still a decent way away. The fact that he's even released his aura at all is telling. They've been trying to maintain a fairly low-key presence here, keeping their auras to a more “normal” level. That Illumi is releasing bloodlust when he still has a mile or so to go—something must have gone very very wrong on this mission. 

Hisoka doesn't even get the chance to ask Illumi how it went when Illumi bursts through the door, slamming it against the back wall. Hisoka, prepared for that at least, had placed his Bungee Gum on the door handle to be sure it wouldn't get stuck in the wall again. 

As the door quietly shuts, Illumi immediately darts towards Hisoka, hands daggerlike as he tries to scratch out Hisoka's eyes. Hisoka flips over the back of the couch, instinctively moving his leg just in time to avoid a rake of Illumi's grasping claws.

They quickly fall into a dance that they have had so many times before. A stalemate of sorts as they both manage to land a few blows, but for the most part they are ducking and diving, weaving and feinting, moving around each other in a graceful pattern of fast-moving limbs. A single mistake could easily mean maiming or death but they know each other so well now. They can read the other's movement by a clench of muscles or a look in the eyes. It's knowledge and foreknowledge and before long, one will succumb to the other and they'll fall into a heap of tangled limbs, finally touching and grasping each other just as they avoid the other's hold now. 

They are only a few minutes out from the next stage of their fight. Illumi's swings are just ever so slightly more wild instead of cold precision. As for Hisoka, he is already hard, ready to move on. Then again, fighting has always been a bit of a turn-on for him. He'll wait for just a couple more minutes and then he'll begin to speak. His words will be the catalyst to make Illumi fall into his arms again.

Just a few minutes more...

There's a flash of blue and suddenly there's a nasty sting in Hisoka's shoulder. Illumi has buried his sharpened fingers into the meat of Hisoka's left shoulder. Hisoka's eyes follow the fingers to the hand to the wrist, up the arm, to Illumi's face, which is one of pure shock. Hisoka has a feeling that his face probably matches.

“You stopped,” Illumi says.

“So did you,” Hisoka points out. They have never stopped when one of them has been injured before.

“You should have dodged that,” Illumi says. “Why did you accept the hit?”

Hisoka shrugs, belatedly remembering his new wound when it twinges. “I got distracted by your beautiful eyes,” he purrs. It's technically not a lie.

Illumi pulls his fingers out of Hisoka's shoulders and shakes his hand once sharply to get rid of most of the blood as he walks down the hall.

“Does this mean we're not going to keep fighting?” Hisoka calls after him as he prods at his shoulder. It's been a while since he's had a wound this deep. He had forgotten that it can be surprisingly painful. Nothing he can't manage of course, but it isn't pleasant. 

“No, we're not,” says Illumi, returning with a roll of gauze. “You're going to get blood all over the place.”

“That's not too different from usual,” Hisoka says, rolling his shoulder. A large quantity of blood quickly soaks through Hisoka's shirt, widening the already fairly big stain. 

“It's still a hassle,” says Illumi. He drapes his arms over Hisoka's shoulders and Hisoka grabs him by the waist.

Hisoka hums happily. “If you just wanted to move to the next stage...”

Illumi grabs fistfuls of the back of Hisoka's shirt and pulls it up and over his head, leaving him barechested. Hisoka allows himself to be manhandled as Illumi props his arm out of the way to begin winding the gauze around his shoulder.

“You aren't going to put anything on it?” Hisoka asks, watching Illumi work. “What if I get an infection?”

“You'll be fine,” Illumi says. “You just need something to stop the bleeding right now.”

“I could have done that with Bungee Gum,” Hisoka says, planting a glob of it on Illumi's cheek with his finger. He pulls lightly to bring Illumi close enough that he can swoop in and kiss his cheek.

“And it would have been done improperly,” Illumi says, but he accepts the kiss nonetheless.

“Aw, 'Lumi, it sounds like you care about me,” Hisoka teases, curling his arms around Illumi.

“You are making this task decidedly more difficult,” Illumi points out, attempting to finish wrapping the last of the gauze around Hisoka's shoulder. 

“Think of it as an added challenge,” Hisoka says, contentedly resting his head against Illumi's. 

Illumi finishes wrapping with a final sharp tug that Hisoka is fairly certain is supposed to signal his cue to let go. He pulls Illumi in closer, chest to chest and cheek to cheek. He catches one of Illumi's hands in his and holds it up to eye level. And then he takes a step forward, forcing Illumi to move with him.

“Dancing?” Illumi says, following Hisoka's movements effortlessly. It's a simple waltz, but they both move smoothly, each step working seamlessly into the next. His hand is on Hisoka's shoulder before Hisoka can even place it there, something that Hisoka personally attributes to reflex rather than any real desire to dance. However, Illumi is still participating, which is encouraging.

“I still have some pent up energy,” Hisoka says lightly. “You won't let us do any more fighting, so...”

“So dancing was your solution,” Illumi finishes. “That is not entirely unexpected of you, and yet I would not have predicted it.”

“I like being unpredictable,” Hisoka murmurs, leaning in to press a kiss to Illumi's lips.

Hisoka looks at Illumi, eyes searching. If Illumi had not come home with bloodlust pouring off of him, Illumi's lack of any sort of reaction would certainly be a big enough clue that something is very wrong with Illumi today. Hisoka raises an eyebrow in question and Illumi concedes. 

“The mission was a failure,” Illumi announces, turning around in Hisoka's arms. He tries to take a step away, but Hisoka keeps him close, back to chest. Illumi relaxes his head back against Hisoka's uninjured shoulder. “One of the guards that had been bribed off the property by the wife grew a conscious. He not only managed to warn to mark, but gave him enough time to set up a decoy and escape. I only got the job with enough time to scope out the mansion but not track the mark's movements.”

Hisoka nods. Illumi had not been pleased receiving the phone call for a rush job. There had been a rant—well, what passed as a rant for Illumi at any rate—about how if people want to get the job properly, like any good project, there needs to be a time frame. If they want a job done quickly, they could get any amateur off the streets. If they were willing to shell out the money for a Zoldyck, who would get the job done _well_... It had turned into a lot of sharp movements as Illumi packed his bag. If it had been anyone else, Hisoka is sure they would have been grumbling under their breath. “What did you do?” he asks, trying not to break the careful mood that Illumi is in. It's rare that Illumi will say anything about a mission, particularly one he deemed a failure.

“The mark was already gone by the time I got there. I killed the decoy which turned out to be a trap in itself when the guard showed up with assassins of his own. By the time I was done, the mark had at least a twenty minute headstart. I tracked down his car and killed him.”

“So it wasn't a failed job?”

Illumi closes his eyes. “It turns out that the guard was the client's lover. She's not willing to pay anything now. Father will force her to pay half of course and she never said anything about collateral damage, but it was still a mistake on my part.”

Hisoka drops a kiss on Illumi's temple, prompting Illumi to open his eyes. “Sounds like we both had a bad day.”

“You didn't get to fight your monk martial artist?”

“Pacifist,” Hisoka says, wrinkling his nose. “Does this mean we can fight now?”

“No.”

Hisoka lowers his hand from Illumi's waist to trace his fingers along the edge of Illumi's pants. “Does this mean we can fuck now?”

“If we must,” Illumi concedes, but there's a ghost of a smile on his face. Hisoka isn't sure if this is going to be a fast or slow round, but it will certainly be interesting trying to figure it out.

~

The fifth time Hisoka sees it, they aren't at home, which he had thought was a prerequisite.

“So how many are mine?” Hisoka asks again, and again Illumi rolls his eyes.

“Five. You get five of them to do with what you like.”

“That's not very many.”

“You started with fifteen. If you keep asking, you'll only have two.”

“But you'll just leave them alive,” Hisoka complains. From their perch in a tree, he focuses in on the group of forty guards in front of the hidden mansion, quickly judging them for strength. None of them rank higher than a twenty. The only way they'd prove dangerous at all is if they came at Hisoka at one instant. 

“Yes, because--”

“--it's a nuisance to clean up afterward, I know,” Hisoka finishes. “What if I get them all away from the house and pick them off one by one? Not as messy if they're in the forest.”

“That makes it worse. The cleaning staff will have to find all of the body parts that you'll have scattered around before the client will be able to move in,” Illumi says, still focused on one of the upper windows as he has been for the past two hours.

“That's considerate of you,” Hisoka says.

“We'll get a bill if the cleanup is too strenuous.”

“Ah. Not considerate at all,” Hisoka says with a grin.

“I'm being very considerate. I'm letting you tag along.”

“But that's because you need me.”

“I said that you could help.”

“Because you need my help.”

Illumi glances over at Hisoka. “I do not need your help.”

Hisoka scoots closer to wrap an around Illumi's waist. “But you like having me here.”

“You are far too self-assured,” Illumi says, and looks back into his binoculars. It's in the reflection that Hisoka sees the blue again. 

Moving smoothly as to avoid knocking Illumi out of his mood, Hisoka curls his fingers around Illumi's chin in order to pull him in for a kiss as well as get confirmation once and for all that Illumi's eyes are turning blue. He murmurs in Illumi's ear, “And you like that--”

“Target spotted.” Illumi is already several branches higher in the tree to verify before Hisoka can mourn the loss of his chance. Illumi drops back down onto Hisoka's branch. “Fifteen at _most_. And they're supposed to look--”

“--look like several people did it, I remember,” says Hisoka, exasperated enough at the reminder and the lost chance that it creeps into his tone.

Illumi pauses to look at Hisoka, and doesn't that just speak volumes about their relationship? Illumi never hesitates when he has a job. He never deals well with distractions. He had almost killed Hisoka when he showed up during a job once. But here he is, stopping in the middle of a job because Hisoka sounds upset. Hisoka officially ranks a smidgeon higher than the job. He is fully aware that if he doesn't say anything in the next couple of seconds, Illumi will simply leave, but at this point right now, he is taking first priority and it's just... exhilarating.

Hisoka pecks Illumi on the cheek. “No more than fifteen, darling. I got it.” He licks a stripe up Illumi's cheek. “Now go get 'em.”

Illumi swipes a hand across his damp cheek and steps off of the branch only to bound off to the next tree. Hisoka quickly loses sight of him, but he isn't worried. After all, he has fifteen at most new playmates to kill. And just because he can only kill fifteen of them doesn't mean he can't play with the remaining twenty-five.

~

The Zoldyck manor is much how Hisoka remembers it. Lush, ornate, well-decorated. The obvious wealth and good taste does not put one in mind of a family of assassins as much as old money and generations of wealth. Of course, it's possible that the Zoldycks have been assassins for so long that they really are inheritors of a vast fortune. Hisoka has never been one to pay attention to the history of things and Illumi has never shared. For as long as Illumi and Hisoka have been in their... whatever it is, Illumi has remained fairly tight-lipped about his family's history. Some things Hisoka knows but only information that he could have gotten from another source as well. He doesn't even know what sort of training Illumi went through as a child and he would love to know about that. Other than poison, electricity, and Heaven's Arena, Illumi's past is a mystery. Of course, Hisoka doesn't share much either.

It's one of the reasons Hisoka enjoys visiting the estate. He gets hints and clues to who Illumi used to be and how he came to be. He also gets a little thrill at how much several members of the family don't like him, particularly Kikyo and Milluki. 

Dinner is a terse affair as always, the conspicuously empty chair of Killua seemingly taunting the family. Hisoka easily could have sat in that chair, but instead another was brought to the table. Each of the Zoldycks has their chair and apparently none but the appointed Zoldyck may sit there. Kalluto's chair is also empty, but somehow there is none of the same heaviness that hangs over Killua's chair. Hisoka finds the whole thing a little silly, but then again, he has never been part of a family before. What's more, the Zoldycks are entirely based around family loyalty. To have one leave is the ultimate betrayal, even if Silva is determined that he will return.

Illumi has offered several times to bring Killua back, but each time he has been refused. Even if Illumi has never said as much, Hisoka knows he misses his favourite brother immensely. Illumi had enjoyed watching Killua learn and adapt and grow as an assassin and was pleased to have had a hand in his teaching. Killua's departure feels like a failing on Illumi's part. Each time Illumi returns home, he is ever more strongly reminded of that fact and then goes to ask his father to allow him to search for Killua. It's a bit of a nasty circle at this point.

As soon as dinner is over, Hisoka is out of his seat like a shot, determined to discover what he might before Illumi, one of the other Zoldycks, or most annoyingly, one of the butlers finds him. Illumi will typically partially explain something, another Zoldyck will often let something slip that may seem innocuous that Hisoka will store away for later or they will prove to have something interesting to say. Zeno is by far Hisoka's favourite Zoldyck after Illumi. He's very entertaining in his wisdom and insight as well as very powerful. It would be marvelous to fight him, but there's no way he could ever make Zeno fight him seriously without making Illumi upset with him too. When it's the the butlers who find Hisoka, they will simply bow and leave him be or shoo him out of the room with increasingly polite and annoying requests. Hisoka can't even fight the butlers because they know he's a guest. They would simply let him kill them. No fun at all.

To Hisoka's pleasure, Illumi is the one to find him in a parlor. Hisoka had found a photo album and was very much enjoying flipping through the book. He had begun in the back in order to travel back in time to the closest form of Illumi he could find to the youngest. The first sighting of Illumi came around halfway through the book although there were plenty of other pictures to fill the remaining pages.

“I had forgotten about these,” Illumi says as he sinks down on the loveseat next to Hisoka. 

“I didn't think your family was the type to take pictures,” Hisoka notes, slowly flipping through the pages. If Illumi isn't going to take the album away from him, there's no reason not to take his time.

“We aren't. We had a butler who enjoyed taking photos for the family.”

“They're good pictures.”

Hisoka continues flipping through the pages, enjoying how Illumi's head slowly slips down onto Hisoka's shoulder. It's when Hisoka gets near to the very front of the book that he pauses. He glances down at Illumi, but he has his eyes closed. Not quite napping, but dozing. Hisoka has no doubt, and evidence from past mistakes, that Illumi can move in for the kill of any threat within a split second. His dozing certainly does not put him in a vulnerable state.

Looking at the page, Hisoka flips forward again. There's a rather pudgy baby with small eyes and a toddler with dark hair. A few pages later there's a baby with white hair and a pudgy toddler and a dark-haired child in the background. The child has dark, empty eyes which contrast sharply against the bright blue of the baby. Hisoka goes back to the picture of the pudgy baby. The toddler there too has dark eyes, although maybe not quite empty. Not yet.

But on the first few pages... the dark-haired baby has beautiful blue eyes. In the first picture, the baby is being held in someone's arms. Based on the kimono, Hisoka assumes it's Kikyo. The baby is obviously tired, eyes practically glazed over but still so bright. The picture underneath it has the baby on its back, reaching for the camera and in mid-laugh. Its eyes are practically sparkling in delight. The next two pages are the same. Various poses of a primarily happy blue-eyed baby. The first picture with two children is the first picture where the blue eyes are dark. There is an obvious gap in time, but the change couldn't be more abundant.

Hisoka turns back to the page with the baby that is shrieking in delight. “'Lumi,” he murmurs gently, “is this you?”

Illumi blearily opens his eyes and takes in the picture. “Yes,” he says simply and closes his eyes again.

Hisoka runs a finger over the picture. “You have blue eyes.”

“Yes.”

“I didn't know that.”

“You wouldn't.”

Hisoka kisses Illumi on the forehead. “You have beautiful eyes.”

Illumi cracks one of his praised eyes open. “Do you mean now or then?”

Hisoka catches Illumi's chin and tilts it upwards just enough that he can kiss him. “Both.”

Illumi breaks the kiss before it can go anywhere to resettle on Hisoka's shoulder. Hisoka could have sworn he saw a flash of blue before Illumi closed his eyes, but it very easily could have been something else. At least now that he knows he isn't going crazy, Hisoka has a three new challenges: figuring out what makes Illumi's eyes turn blue, seeing how long he can make them stay blue, and seeing how long he can go about it before Illumi notices.

Hisoka nuzzles into Illumi's hair. This is going to be fun.


End file.
